Munch masterpieces destroyed?
The Munch masterpieces "The Scream" and "Madonna" have been incinerated, according to newspaper Dagbladet, citing criminal sources and a top secret police report.
The paper claimed Thursday that the paintings were destroyed in order to get rid of damning evidence as the police investigation closes in on the culprits behind the robbery.
Investigation leader Iver Stensrud of the Oslo police said he had no knowledge of the supposedly secret report acknowledging the destruction of the paintings.
"This is completely unknown to Oslo police. I basically have no comment and normally we do not use Dagbladet as a reliable source here at the Oslo police," Stensrud told NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting). Three people are in custody in connection with the Munch robbery, but none of them are linked to crime via technical evidence, and the pair that carried out the heist are considered to be at large. Dagbladet cited both criminal and police sources in their reportage, and said that police expect new arrests in the case shortly.
Friday, April 29, 2005
Offshore!
NewsMax.com WiresFriday, April 29, 2005
"Outsourcing" – which has become synonymous with sending American jobs to India or China – could soon mean foreign workers sleeping in ships just a few miles off America's coasts. In an outrageous affront to U.S. labor laws, a California company plans to anchor a 600-cabin cruise ship just beyond the three-mile limit off the coast of El Segundo, near Los Angeles, and stock it with foreign software programmers. The company, SeaCode, will seek to classify the workers as "seamen," avoiding U.S. payroll taxes and the need for immigration visas.
Programmers from places like India and Russia would work 8-hour or 10-hour shifts, either day or night. Take-home pay: About $21,500 a year. Compare that to the salary of an American programmer – median salary for programmers is around $60,000, and those with extensive experience can make $125,000 or more - and U.S. companies like SeaCode could reap a windfall.
"Outsourcing" – which has become synonymous with sending American jobs to India or China – could soon mean foreign workers sleeping in ships just a few miles off America's coasts. In an outrageous affront to U.S. labor laws, a California company plans to anchor a 600-cabin cruise ship just beyond the three-mile limit off the coast of El Segundo, near Los Angeles, and stock it with foreign software programmers. The company, SeaCode, will seek to classify the workers as "seamen," avoiding U.S. payroll taxes and the need for immigration visas.
Programmers from places like India and Russia would work 8-hour or 10-hour shifts, either day or night. Take-home pay: About $21,500 a year. Compare that to the salary of an American programmer – median salary for programmers is around $60,000, and those with extensive experience can make $125,000 or more - and U.S. companies like SeaCode could reap a windfall.
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
POSTSECRET, An anonymous, communal art project, POSTSECRET encourages people to send in an unsigned, homemade postcard relating one true secret on it. The results range from the hilarious to the sorrowful to the downright astonishing. Click on the link and enjoy. I hope you weren't planning on doing anything else for the next little while.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
When in Rome
nopantsdance.wav(74K) nopantsdance.mp3(74K)
Brian: "I'll give this little cookie an hour before we're doing the no-pants dance. Time to musk up."
Brian: "I'll give this little cookie an hour before we're doing the no-pants dance. Time to musk up."
These scream Cortes-
Hang around with sacfree®!
In contrast to the boxershort, sacfree® does not appear under light suit trousers.
Clinging slips are heat isolations - sacfree® is different! With its open kind sacfree® ensures particularly on hot summer days for a fresh breeze to your balls. A healthy characteristic, because your testicles keep their natural temperature.
Above all, who works vocationally much in sitting, will appreciate the liberty of sacfree®
In contrast to the boxershort, sacfree® does not appear under light suit trousers.
Clinging slips are heat isolations - sacfree® is different! With its open kind sacfree® ensures particularly on hot summer days for a fresh breeze to your balls. A healthy characteristic, because your testicles keep their natural temperature.
Above all, who works vocationally much in sitting, will appreciate the liberty of sacfree®
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
"I punched Saddam in the mouth"
BY CHAD GARRISON Chad.Garrison@riverfronttimes.com
By Jennifer Silverberg
Samir, a St. Louis auto mechanic, was the first to grab hold of Hussein.
In a south-city Saint Louis Bread Co., a young auto mechanic named Samir puts down his coffee long enough to carefully eye the other patrons. Assured no one is paying him any mind, he lowers his voice to a guttural whisper, fidgets with the zipper on his black tracksuit and rubs his grease-stained fingers along a finely manicured goatee. Then, in a syncopated rhythm of street slang and accented English, he transports himself back in time to a bitter-cold December night in Iraq. It had to have been the most sublime moment of his life. Samir tells how he arrived in Tikrit as an Arabic interpreter for United States Special Forces in late 2003, how he peered into a hidden bunker and heard a voice begging for mercy, how he reached into the darkness and pulled out Saddam Hussein. "I was so angry," says Samir, who immigrated to St. Louis eleven years ago after fleeing Iraq. "I began cussing at him, calling him a motherfucker, a son-of-a-bitch -- you name it. I told him I was Shiite from the south and was part of the revolution against him in 1991. I said he murdered my uncles and cousins. He imprisoned my father.
"All these years of anger, I couldn't stop. I tried to say the worst things I could. I told him if he were a real man he would have killed himself. I asked him: 'Why are you living in that dirty little hole, you bastard? You are a rat. Your father is a rat.'" In Arabic, Saddam told Samir to shut up. And when Saddam called him a traitor, an enraged Samir silenced his prisoner with a flurry of quick jabs to the face.
"I punched Saddam in the mouth."
By Jennifer Silverberg
Samir, a St. Louis auto mechanic, was the first to grab hold of Hussein.
In a south-city Saint Louis Bread Co., a young auto mechanic named Samir puts down his coffee long enough to carefully eye the other patrons. Assured no one is paying him any mind, he lowers his voice to a guttural whisper, fidgets with the zipper on his black tracksuit and rubs his grease-stained fingers along a finely manicured goatee. Then, in a syncopated rhythm of street slang and accented English, he transports himself back in time to a bitter-cold December night in Iraq. It had to have been the most sublime moment of his life. Samir tells how he arrived in Tikrit as an Arabic interpreter for United States Special Forces in late 2003, how he peered into a hidden bunker and heard a voice begging for mercy, how he reached into the darkness and pulled out Saddam Hussein. "I was so angry," says Samir, who immigrated to St. Louis eleven years ago after fleeing Iraq. "I began cussing at him, calling him a motherfucker, a son-of-a-bitch -- you name it. I told him I was Shiite from the south and was part of the revolution against him in 1991. I said he murdered my uncles and cousins. He imprisoned my father.
"All these years of anger, I couldn't stop. I tried to say the worst things I could. I told him if he were a real man he would have killed himself. I asked him: 'Why are you living in that dirty little hole, you bastard? You are a rat. Your father is a rat.'" In Arabic, Saddam told Samir to shut up. And when Saddam called him a traitor, an enraged Samir silenced his prisoner with a flurry of quick jabs to the face.
"I punched Saddam in the mouth."
Never Copped a Feel
Michael Jackson is facing charges... again. Hear Jacko proclaim his innocence in this parody of "The Way You Make Me Feel".
http://toccionline.kizash.com/films/1001/139/
http://toccionline.kizash.com/films/1001/139/
Report: U.S. Foreign Policy Hurting American Students' Chances Of Getting Laid Abroad
AMSTERDAM—American students traveling abroad confirm the findings of a study indicating that Washington's unilateral approach to foreign policy has seriously undermined Americans' chances of getting laid. "I've been in Amsterdam for two months and have yet to begin a conversation with a cute girl that hasn't ended in a lecture about how big, evil America is taking everyone's oil," said college sophomore Brad Higgs, a participant in Johns Hopkins University's study-abroad program. "I offer to buy them a drink, and they tell me I shouldn't just stand by and watch Bush destroy the world. Look, if I had that type of pull with the president, I obviously wouldn't be out trolling for anonymous Dutch pussy."
The report, released Monday by the Center For U.S.-International Casual Relations, was based on interviews with approximately 1,400 American students returning from abroad. According to study director Gilbert Hapbrook, sexual contact between American students and foreigners has declined steadily since January 2001. "Unpopular military actions and dismissal of international organizations have galvanized world hostility toward the U.S.," Hapbrook said. "Instead of being inundated with questions about Hollywood and requests to help hot young foreigners practice their English, Americans are being openly scorned in European pubs and cafes. Data taken from a poll of students in December 2004 showed that only a dismal 11 percent had achieved sexual congress with a non-American."
Hapbrook said the 2004 overseas-coitus figures show a slight recovery from the all-time low reached in November 2002, after the Afghanistan invasion and during escalating conflict with Iraq. But the figures are still well below those of 1999, when Bill Clinton was in office and a very healthy 67 percent of respondents scored abroad. "I'm in Amsterdam—Amsterdam, for Christ's sake—and I'm in the middle of the longest dry spell I can remember," Higgs said. "Last week, I was making out with this Italian girl at a concert. It was all going great until the music ended and she heard my American accent. I swear to God, I went from the cusp of a hand job to, 'Why won't your country sign the Kyoto Treaty?'"
University of Colorado junior Casey Knight recently arrived in Amsterdam after a month in Germany.
"I asked a group of German girls at some Eurotrash disco to dance and they started yelling at me," Knight said. "They said that by paying taxes to the American government, I am no better than a fascist. Well, they would know, I guess." Even students who actively oppose President Bush are susceptible to criticism, according to Emily Biehn, a Duke University student spending her spring semester in Paris.
"I voted for Kerry and I marched against the Iraq war," Biehn said. "But when I got to Europe, I might as well have been wearing a Bush bumper sticker on my forehead and star-spangled cowboy boots. As soon as the French guys hear I am from the U.S., all they want to do is argue politics."
"And switching tactics and acting like you're totally apathetic about politics just pisses them off even more," Biehn added. Acknowledging that a large-scale change in American foreign policy is unlikely to occur before the end of the current semester, Hapbrook recommended three tactics for American students frustrated in their attempts to bed foreigners. "First, pretend you're Canadian whenever you can," Hapbrook said. "But make sure you're not around actual Canadians, because they'll know you're lying and cock-block you. Second, if there are any anti-American protests going on, take care to avoid women carrying signs. Third, focus your itinerary on countries like Ireland and Japan that are still relatively friendly to Americans."
"You may want to write off France altogether," Hapbrook added. Hapbrook said he developed his tactics in 1983, when the American government was practicing hardline Cold War foreign policy and he was spending his junior year abroad. Higgs, who spends most of his time in his hostel playing solitaire and watching DVDs on his laptop computer, urged students back home to write to their congressional representatives.
"This affects all of us," Higgs said. "The government has to acknowledge the needs of young Americans. Too many U.S. citizens in foreign lands are spending sleepless, lonely nights jerking off in increasingly filthy sleeping bags. It sucks."
The report, released Monday by the Center For U.S.-International Casual Relations, was based on interviews with approximately 1,400 American students returning from abroad. According to study director Gilbert Hapbrook, sexual contact between American students and foreigners has declined steadily since January 2001. "Unpopular military actions and dismissal of international organizations have galvanized world hostility toward the U.S.," Hapbrook said. "Instead of being inundated with questions about Hollywood and requests to help hot young foreigners practice their English, Americans are being openly scorned in European pubs and cafes. Data taken from a poll of students in December 2004 showed that only a dismal 11 percent had achieved sexual congress with a non-American."
Hapbrook said the 2004 overseas-coitus figures show a slight recovery from the all-time low reached in November 2002, after the Afghanistan invasion and during escalating conflict with Iraq. But the figures are still well below those of 1999, when Bill Clinton was in office and a very healthy 67 percent of respondents scored abroad. "I'm in Amsterdam—Amsterdam, for Christ's sake—and I'm in the middle of the longest dry spell I can remember," Higgs said. "Last week, I was making out with this Italian girl at a concert. It was all going great until the music ended and she heard my American accent. I swear to God, I went from the cusp of a hand job to, 'Why won't your country sign the Kyoto Treaty?'"
University of Colorado junior Casey Knight recently arrived in Amsterdam after a month in Germany.
"I asked a group of German girls at some Eurotrash disco to dance and they started yelling at me," Knight said. "They said that by paying taxes to the American government, I am no better than a fascist. Well, they would know, I guess." Even students who actively oppose President Bush are susceptible to criticism, according to Emily Biehn, a Duke University student spending her spring semester in Paris.
"I voted for Kerry and I marched against the Iraq war," Biehn said. "But when I got to Europe, I might as well have been wearing a Bush bumper sticker on my forehead and star-spangled cowboy boots. As soon as the French guys hear I am from the U.S., all they want to do is argue politics."
"And switching tactics and acting like you're totally apathetic about politics just pisses them off even more," Biehn added. Acknowledging that a large-scale change in American foreign policy is unlikely to occur before the end of the current semester, Hapbrook recommended three tactics for American students frustrated in their attempts to bed foreigners. "First, pretend you're Canadian whenever you can," Hapbrook said. "But make sure you're not around actual Canadians, because they'll know you're lying and cock-block you. Second, if there are any anti-American protests going on, take care to avoid women carrying signs. Third, focus your itinerary on countries like Ireland and Japan that are still relatively friendly to Americans."
"You may want to write off France altogether," Hapbrook added. Hapbrook said he developed his tactics in 1983, when the American government was practicing hardline Cold War foreign policy and he was spending his junior year abroad. Higgs, who spends most of his time in his hostel playing solitaire and watching DVDs on his laptop computer, urged students back home to write to their congressional representatives.
"This affects all of us," Higgs said. "The government has to acknowledge the needs of young Americans. Too many U.S. citizens in foreign lands are spending sleepless, lonely nights jerking off in increasingly filthy sleeping bags. It sucks."
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Send in the Clown
April 26, 2005
MONICA DAVEY
CHICAGO, April 25 - The names read like a who's who from some faded blotter left behind at the Chicago Police Department's old State Street headquarters: Joseph (the Clown) Lombardo, Frank (the German) Schweihs, Frank (Gumba) Saladino, and on and on. But on Monday, 14 men, including several who have for years been reputed to be in the city's top level of organized crime leaders, were being rounded up in connection with 18 murders that stretch back over four decades and had gone unsolved and, in some cases, been nearly forgotten.
Several of the accused are in their mid-70's now, and one, though only 59, was found dead, apparently of natural causes, when the authorities arrived on Monday to arrest him in the hotel room where he lived. A few of the others accused, meanwhile, had moved away to places like Florida and Arizona, better known for retirement. Describing the 9-count, 41-page racketeering conspiracy indictment as putting a "hit on the mob," Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney here, said in a written statement, "After so many years, it lifts the veil of secrecy and exposes the violent underworld of organized crime." While arrests of organized crime figures are hardly unique in a city where Al Capone once worked, rarely have so many of its reputed high-level leaders been charged all at once. Nor, federal authorities said, has the entire "Chicago Outfit" before been deemed a criminal enterprise under federal racketeering laws. "This really lays out the whole continuing criminal enterprise that is still going on," said Thomas Kirkpatrick, president of the Chicago Crime Commission, an anticrime group created in 1919 by Chicago business leaders who were increasingly worried that it could become too dangerous to conduct legitimate commerce in this town.
"People tend to forget what these guys are about," Mr. Kirkpatrick said. "They watch 'The Sopranos' or some of these movies about the mob, and they think it's just some colorful characters. The thing is, they're still doing this. These characters are still doing this."
Among the most notorious murders the authorities say they have solved with Monday's announcement: the 1986 death of Tony (the Ant) Spilotro, the organization's chief enforcer in Las Vegas, and his brother, Michael, who were buried in an Indiana cornfield. (Joe Pesci portrayed a character based on Tony Spilotro in the 1995 movie "Casino.")
MONICA DAVEY
CHICAGO, April 25 - The names read like a who's who from some faded blotter left behind at the Chicago Police Department's old State Street headquarters: Joseph (the Clown) Lombardo, Frank (the German) Schweihs, Frank (Gumba) Saladino, and on and on. But on Monday, 14 men, including several who have for years been reputed to be in the city's top level of organized crime leaders, were being rounded up in connection with 18 murders that stretch back over four decades and had gone unsolved and, in some cases, been nearly forgotten.
Several of the accused are in their mid-70's now, and one, though only 59, was found dead, apparently of natural causes, when the authorities arrived on Monday to arrest him in the hotel room where he lived. A few of the others accused, meanwhile, had moved away to places like Florida and Arizona, better known for retirement. Describing the 9-count, 41-page racketeering conspiracy indictment as putting a "hit on the mob," Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney here, said in a written statement, "After so many years, it lifts the veil of secrecy and exposes the violent underworld of organized crime." While arrests of organized crime figures are hardly unique in a city where Al Capone once worked, rarely have so many of its reputed high-level leaders been charged all at once. Nor, federal authorities said, has the entire "Chicago Outfit" before been deemed a criminal enterprise under federal racketeering laws. "This really lays out the whole continuing criminal enterprise that is still going on," said Thomas Kirkpatrick, president of the Chicago Crime Commission, an anticrime group created in 1919 by Chicago business leaders who were increasingly worried that it could become too dangerous to conduct legitimate commerce in this town.
"People tend to forget what these guys are about," Mr. Kirkpatrick said. "They watch 'The Sopranos' or some of these movies about the mob, and they think it's just some colorful characters. The thing is, they're still doing this. These characters are still doing this."
Among the most notorious murders the authorities say they have solved with Monday's announcement: the 1986 death of Tony (the Ant) Spilotro, the organization's chief enforcer in Las Vegas, and his brother, Michael, who were buried in an Indiana cornfield. (Joe Pesci portrayed a character based on Tony Spilotro in the 1995 movie "Casino.")
What a disgrace.
By George Lewis
Correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 7:26 p.m. ET April 25, 2005
PORTLAND, Ore. - FBI agents and local police knocking on — and down — doors goes on daily around the country as the FBI and local police team up to catch criminals. And since 9/11, about 100 cities have joined with the FBI in task forces aimed at combating terrorism.
advertisementBut in Portland, a place with plenty of political mavericks, some worry about what those terrorism task forces are doing. "When police operate in secrecy, police surveillance tends to target innocent people who are vocal about their political and religious views," says David Fidanque with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon. This week, the City Council is expected to vote to remove police officers from the terrorism task force. Mayor Tom Potter demanded greater oversight into what local officers were doing on the task force, including access to secret files. "I want to know what investigations they're conducting, who they're conducting them on and what is the source of the information," says Potter.
But federal authorities worried about the kind of precedent that would set. "The FBI cannot and will not support the granting of security clearances to anyone who does not have a legitimate and direct need to know," says FBI special agent-in-charge Robert Jordan.
And, in a joint appearance, the mayor and the local FBI chief announced they had agreed to disagree. The issue has split Portland right down the middle. On one side: Those who worry about the federal government trampling on civil liberties. On the other: Those who worry about the city opening the door to terrorism.
Sometimes you can be so open minded, your brain falls out.
Correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 7:26 p.m. ET April 25, 2005
PORTLAND, Ore. - FBI agents and local police knocking on — and down — doors goes on daily around the country as the FBI and local police team up to catch criminals. And since 9/11, about 100 cities have joined with the FBI in task forces aimed at combating terrorism.
advertisementBut in Portland, a place with plenty of political mavericks, some worry about what those terrorism task forces are doing. "When police operate in secrecy, police surveillance tends to target innocent people who are vocal about their political and religious views," says David Fidanque with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon. This week, the City Council is expected to vote to remove police officers from the terrorism task force. Mayor Tom Potter demanded greater oversight into what local officers were doing on the task force, including access to secret files. "I want to know what investigations they're conducting, who they're conducting them on and what is the source of the information," says Potter.
But federal authorities worried about the kind of precedent that would set. "The FBI cannot and will not support the granting of security clearances to anyone who does not have a legitimate and direct need to know," says FBI special agent-in-charge Robert Jordan.
And, in a joint appearance, the mayor and the local FBI chief announced they had agreed to disagree. The issue has split Portland right down the middle. On one side: Those who worry about the federal government trampling on civil liberties. On the other: Those who worry about the city opening the door to terrorism.
Sometimes you can be so open minded, your brain falls out.
Monday, April 25, 2005
David Cross Update
LONDON AND THE BELUSH!
Hey everybody. Well, It’s been a long time since I’ve checked in with the gang at bobanddavid.com. I understand that it’s changed its look to something bolder and brighter with kind of a southwestern motif. Sounds good. I think that style is one of the best America has to offer. Few too people know about the history of southwestern style and it’s influence on early 90’s Hollywood. But that’s a tale for later, first let me regale you with some things that I have seen and smelled. The last couple of months have been jam-packed with cultural bridges being traversed and then set alight and stomped out with Doc Martins. And now I find myself back in sunny, eternally optimistic Los Angeles after a month in rainy, ever unhealthy London. Outside of Chechnya in winter, London has to be the place my stomach fears the most, but it was actually better than I thought. It was fun and educational (I took a guided tour of the Tower of London and now know what crack tastes like* although those two events are not linked) and I made many new friends there. I bought a cool jacket, and I ate a pie. Let’s see…what else? The prostitutes are a bit soggy and the money is heavier and the exchange rate sucks. Over all I would say don’t go to London unless you have twice as much money as you would spend for a similar vacation in say, Providence Rhode Island, but also, don’t go on vacation in Providence Rhode Island, that would be foolish. People in London are a bit friendlier and the girls are much more attractive then I remember them from the last time I was there about five years ago. Apparently they are starting to evolve into a race of people who find fat, pale, blotchy, unwashed bodies and terrible teeth less attractive then the alternative. I don’t know if it’s because they now get “Baywatch” over there on BBC1 or whether someone woke up sober one day, but it’s definitely taken a turn for the better if you like attractive women. Unfortunately for the ladies, I can’t say the same about the fellas. They still have bad teeth; vomit flecked shoes, greasy hair and the delicate, sensitive touch of a clunky robot built in the 50’s. The food’s a lot better though. Whereas before it seemed that every other meal was coated in three-year-old oil with invisible time-released feathers in it, now there’s way more variety and healthy alternatives. I was there to do stand-up shows, which, for the most part were pretty well received. I had a couple of off nights and one terrible show. I was also called a “homophobe” amongst other nasty slanders in a local paper (“The London Slanderer”). The entire run was sold-out and people genuinely seemed to like my shit (although starting off my set one night with “Wow, your country is almost as fat and stupid as mine” wasn’t the best idea). But I did follow it up with a description of Georgia and the Minneapolis Airport (two huge fat zoos – that is what I consider the Minneapolis Airport – a fat zoo) so they let it go. I did experience one thing that was unexpected; I actually lost weight after a month in London. I think, because I’m a little more health conscience then I used to be, and, after I would have an English fry-up for breakfast, fish and chips for dinner and six or seven pints and a couple of shots of whatever after the show waking up not too far from a pile of vomit and bent glasses (try that six nights a week for three and half weeks straight), I would work extra hard to take it easy the next couple of days and eat right and not drink too much. So perhaps there is a lesson to be taken from binge drinking (a big problem in Britain right now) and that is, if you have to go to work or hold a baby at some point during your day and you feel bloated and sick and you need to set yourself right, binge it up! You’ll regress to such a repulsive state that you’ll have no choice but to clean up or die. And who knows, maybe you’ll even drop a few pounds!Holy Crapoli!Start the Presses! The Cigar Corner Presses that is! As I have recently learned, I attended the 56th annual Emmy Awards this year in Hollywood! Normally this would not be a big deal as my security service (Black and Strong Ex-Con Security by David) is usually involved, but this turned out to be one of the most special of special nights that humans have ever constructed! If you think watching Alison Janey awkwardly humiliating a fellow nominee is noteworthy, then you better get to Office Depot and get a bunch of notebooks, because have I got something for you to write down in a notebook! I, David Cross, finally for real, got to meet, greet, and deplete the one and only – the legend – Jim Belushi! The Belush! JimJam was there to celebrate the release of season one of “According to Jim” into the wild. And for those of you still in the Jim Belushi closet, that’s Jim’s show on ABC! It’s based on his life and the hilarious and imaginative way he chooses to live it. I’ve known J-bone ever since we met on the set of “Destiny Turns on the Radio”, or, as I like to call it, “Jim Belushi Turns on the Movie Going Public”. He was electrifying as “The Douche bag”. At least I think that’s what his character was called. I didn’t have any scenes with him but that’s what everyone was calling him on the set. Although some of the crew referred to him as a “Total Prick” so maybe he was playing multiple rolls. Anyway, I had always been a huge fan of his and I was excited to work with a master. I guess his character in the movie was a real asshole and in the true spirit of a professional, Jim would remain in character even when he wasn’t shooting! He would always keep himself loose on the set by coming up with some fun “in character” shenanigans like making the wardrobe girl cry and then ultimately quit. He was awesome. I was hoping he would get together with his rockin’ blues band “The Sacred Hearts” and blow out an old Mississippi Delta Blues jam but he hadn’t come up with the idea to follow in his dead brothers footsteps once again, and form them yet. But keep in mind that this was before 9/11, and that changed everything. Jim formed “The Sacred Hearts” in honor of those that perished in the Towers that terrible day, and he always dedicates his cover of The Blues Brothers (2000) cover of Blind Nigger Nelson’s classic, “Ain’t nobody done no nothin’ no way no how I cain’t do myself if I had eyes and wasn’t a poor black man in a brutally repressive society” to the firemen of ladder 23, a jam the Belushmobile was born to jam!So, flash-forward several years to the present. I’m sitting in the audience at the Emmy’s when I hear the twelve greatest words a Belushiac like myself could ever hear: “Ladies and Gentleman, from ABC’s own According To Jim, here’s Jim Belushi! Well, I nearly fell about the place. I screamed “The Belush!” as loud as I could twice, but I don’t think Jim or America heard me. As I looked on as Jim introduced the presenters of the next award I marveled at how much talent he exuded from the stage. It was as if God had a master plan to kill John Belushi just so that Jim could get a shot at getting his chance at Hollywood. And I was thinking how lucky ABC is to have According to Jim on its network, because Jim would never consider being on something so beneath him as an awards show. Especially one that will never recognize him for any achievement ever in life or death. There’s a good reason you’ve never seen The Belush picking up an award at anything, and that is because he is pure. He’s not about glitz and glamour. He’s a regular guy like you and me and the President. So, there I was, sitting amongst Hollywood royalty like Sela Ward and Brad Garrett and all I wanted to do was get out of my monkey suit (literally, it was made from monkey fur) and get backstage and hang with Jim and just shoot the shit about regular guy stuff like “Da Bears”! And what he uses to get his many stains out and what he thinks of the situation in the Sudan. After the “Best Shouty Actor in a Police or Law or Hospital Drama Series” (won by the guy from “CSI – Law Hospital”) there was a commercial break. I quickly farted, got up, and went down the aisle to the side of the stage. When the security guard (a newly clean Pauly Shore) looked away I snuck in through the curtain and made my way down to the backstage area…
*Goobleberries!
Hey everybody. Well, It’s been a long time since I’ve checked in with the gang at bobanddavid.com. I understand that it’s changed its look to something bolder and brighter with kind of a southwestern motif. Sounds good. I think that style is one of the best America has to offer. Few too people know about the history of southwestern style and it’s influence on early 90’s Hollywood. But that’s a tale for later, first let me regale you with some things that I have seen and smelled. The last couple of months have been jam-packed with cultural bridges being traversed and then set alight and stomped out with Doc Martins. And now I find myself back in sunny, eternally optimistic Los Angeles after a month in rainy, ever unhealthy London. Outside of Chechnya in winter, London has to be the place my stomach fears the most, but it was actually better than I thought. It was fun and educational (I took a guided tour of the Tower of London and now know what crack tastes like* although those two events are not linked) and I made many new friends there. I bought a cool jacket, and I ate a pie. Let’s see…what else? The prostitutes are a bit soggy and the money is heavier and the exchange rate sucks. Over all I would say don’t go to London unless you have twice as much money as you would spend for a similar vacation in say, Providence Rhode Island, but also, don’t go on vacation in Providence Rhode Island, that would be foolish. People in London are a bit friendlier and the girls are much more attractive then I remember them from the last time I was there about five years ago. Apparently they are starting to evolve into a race of people who find fat, pale, blotchy, unwashed bodies and terrible teeth less attractive then the alternative. I don’t know if it’s because they now get “Baywatch” over there on BBC1 or whether someone woke up sober one day, but it’s definitely taken a turn for the better if you like attractive women. Unfortunately for the ladies, I can’t say the same about the fellas. They still have bad teeth; vomit flecked shoes, greasy hair and the delicate, sensitive touch of a clunky robot built in the 50’s. The food’s a lot better though. Whereas before it seemed that every other meal was coated in three-year-old oil with invisible time-released feathers in it, now there’s way more variety and healthy alternatives. I was there to do stand-up shows, which, for the most part were pretty well received. I had a couple of off nights and one terrible show. I was also called a “homophobe” amongst other nasty slanders in a local paper (“The London Slanderer”). The entire run was sold-out and people genuinely seemed to like my shit (although starting off my set one night with “Wow, your country is almost as fat and stupid as mine” wasn’t the best idea). But I did follow it up with a description of Georgia and the Minneapolis Airport (two huge fat zoos – that is what I consider the Minneapolis Airport – a fat zoo) so they let it go. I did experience one thing that was unexpected; I actually lost weight after a month in London. I think, because I’m a little more health conscience then I used to be, and, after I would have an English fry-up for breakfast, fish and chips for dinner and six or seven pints and a couple of shots of whatever after the show waking up not too far from a pile of vomit and bent glasses (try that six nights a week for three and half weeks straight), I would work extra hard to take it easy the next couple of days and eat right and not drink too much. So perhaps there is a lesson to be taken from binge drinking (a big problem in Britain right now) and that is, if you have to go to work or hold a baby at some point during your day and you feel bloated and sick and you need to set yourself right, binge it up! You’ll regress to such a repulsive state that you’ll have no choice but to clean up or die. And who knows, maybe you’ll even drop a few pounds!Holy Crapoli!Start the Presses! The Cigar Corner Presses that is! As I have recently learned, I attended the 56th annual Emmy Awards this year in Hollywood! Normally this would not be a big deal as my security service (Black and Strong Ex-Con Security by David) is usually involved, but this turned out to be one of the most special of special nights that humans have ever constructed! If you think watching Alison Janey awkwardly humiliating a fellow nominee is noteworthy, then you better get to Office Depot and get a bunch of notebooks, because have I got something for you to write down in a notebook! I, David Cross, finally for real, got to meet, greet, and deplete the one and only – the legend – Jim Belushi! The Belush! JimJam was there to celebrate the release of season one of “According to Jim” into the wild. And for those of you still in the Jim Belushi closet, that’s Jim’s show on ABC! It’s based on his life and the hilarious and imaginative way he chooses to live it. I’ve known J-bone ever since we met on the set of “Destiny Turns on the Radio”, or, as I like to call it, “Jim Belushi Turns on the Movie Going Public”. He was electrifying as “The Douche bag”. At least I think that’s what his character was called. I didn’t have any scenes with him but that’s what everyone was calling him on the set. Although some of the crew referred to him as a “Total Prick” so maybe he was playing multiple rolls. Anyway, I had always been a huge fan of his and I was excited to work with a master. I guess his character in the movie was a real asshole and in the true spirit of a professional, Jim would remain in character even when he wasn’t shooting! He would always keep himself loose on the set by coming up with some fun “in character” shenanigans like making the wardrobe girl cry and then ultimately quit. He was awesome. I was hoping he would get together with his rockin’ blues band “The Sacred Hearts” and blow out an old Mississippi Delta Blues jam but he hadn’t come up with the idea to follow in his dead brothers footsteps once again, and form them yet. But keep in mind that this was before 9/11, and that changed everything. Jim formed “The Sacred Hearts” in honor of those that perished in the Towers that terrible day, and he always dedicates his cover of The Blues Brothers (2000) cover of Blind Nigger Nelson’s classic, “Ain’t nobody done no nothin’ no way no how I cain’t do myself if I had eyes and wasn’t a poor black man in a brutally repressive society” to the firemen of ladder 23, a jam the Belushmobile was born to jam!So, flash-forward several years to the present. I’m sitting in the audience at the Emmy’s when I hear the twelve greatest words a Belushiac like myself could ever hear: “Ladies and Gentleman, from ABC’s own According To Jim, here’s Jim Belushi! Well, I nearly fell about the place. I screamed “The Belush!” as loud as I could twice, but I don’t think Jim or America heard me. As I looked on as Jim introduced the presenters of the next award I marveled at how much talent he exuded from the stage. It was as if God had a master plan to kill John Belushi just so that Jim could get a shot at getting his chance at Hollywood. And I was thinking how lucky ABC is to have According to Jim on its network, because Jim would never consider being on something so beneath him as an awards show. Especially one that will never recognize him for any achievement ever in life or death. There’s a good reason you’ve never seen The Belush picking up an award at anything, and that is because he is pure. He’s not about glitz and glamour. He’s a regular guy like you and me and the President. So, there I was, sitting amongst Hollywood royalty like Sela Ward and Brad Garrett and all I wanted to do was get out of my monkey suit (literally, it was made from monkey fur) and get backstage and hang with Jim and just shoot the shit about regular guy stuff like “Da Bears”! And what he uses to get his many stains out and what he thinks of the situation in the Sudan. After the “Best Shouty Actor in a Police or Law or Hospital Drama Series” (won by the guy from “CSI – Law Hospital”) there was a commercial break. I quickly farted, got up, and went down the aisle to the side of the stage. When the security guard (a newly clean Pauly Shore) looked away I snuck in through the curtain and made my way down to the backstage area…
*Goobleberries!
10 Years of 10 Rounds
Many Say End of Firearm Ban Changed Little
By DEBORAH SONTAG New York Times
Despite dire predictions that the streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban last September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons' sales, gun makers and sellers say. It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several metropolitan police departments.
The uneventful expiration of the assault weapons ban did not surprise gun owners, nor did it surprise some advocates of gun control. Rather, it underscored what many of them had said all along: that the ban was porous - so porous that assault weapons remained widely available throughout their prohibition.
By DEBORAH SONTAG New York Times
Despite dire predictions that the streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban last September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons' sales, gun makers and sellers say. It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several metropolitan police departments.
The uneventful expiration of the assault weapons ban did not surprise gun owners, nor did it surprise some advocates of gun control. Rather, it underscored what many of them had said all along: that the ban was porous - so porous that assault weapons remained widely available throughout their prohibition.
Crystal Ballroom Shows
Friday, June 10 BUILT TO SPILL(Support to be announced)8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show $17.50 advance, $20 day of show All ages One of our generation's most endearing and enduring bands, Built to Spill is touring nationally, previewing new material from their album due for release in September.[
Thursday, June 16 Thrasher Presents SPOON The Clientele 8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show $15 advance, $17 day of show All ages
Friday, June 17 STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS Martha Wainwright8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show $15 advance, $15 day of show All ages
Thursday, June 16 Thrasher Presents SPOON The Clientele 8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show $15 advance, $17 day of show All ages
Friday, June 17 STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS Martha Wainwright8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show $15 advance, $15 day of show All ages
Friday, April 22, 2005
France is at it again.
France will support China if they attack Taiwan: France Backs China on Taiwan.
During a state visit to China, French Premier Raffarin threw support behind a law allowing China to attack Taiwan and continued to push for a lift of the EU arms embargo.
At the outset of a three-day visit to China, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he supported Beijing’s “anti-secession” law on Taiwan, and vowed to keep pushing for an end to an EU arms embargo that could open the door for Paris to sell weapons to the Asian giant.
Raffarin also signed or finalized major business deals with Beijing valued at around $3.2 billion (2.4 billion euros).
Appearing to put his government at odds with the European Union, Raffarin said at the outset of the three day visit that Paris had no objections to the anti-secession law. “The anti-secession law is completely compatible with the position of France,” he said in a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao.
During a state visit to China, French Premier Raffarin threw support behind a law allowing China to attack Taiwan and continued to push for a lift of the EU arms embargo.
At the outset of a three-day visit to China, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he supported Beijing’s “anti-secession” law on Taiwan, and vowed to keep pushing for an end to an EU arms embargo that could open the door for Paris to sell weapons to the Asian giant.
Raffarin also signed or finalized major business deals with Beijing valued at around $3.2 billion (2.4 billion euros).
Appearing to put his government at odds with the European Union, Raffarin said at the outset of the three day visit that Paris had no objections to the anti-secession law. “The anti-secession law is completely compatible with the position of France,” he said in a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao.
Winning the War
Another Friday means another column from Victor Davis Hanson, insightful as always: Winning the War.
"Do not look for logic and consistency in the Middle East where they are not to be found. It makes no sense to be frustrated that Arab intellectuals and reformers damn us for removing Saddam and simultaneously praise democratic rumblings that followed his fall. We should accept that the only palatable scenario for the Arab Street was one equally fanciful: Brave demonstrators took to the barricades, forced Saddam’s departure, created a constitution, held elections, and then invited other Arab reformers into Baghdad to spread such indigenous reform — all resulting in a society as sophisticated, wealthy, free, and modern as the West, but felt to be morally superior because of its allegiance to Islam. That is the dream that is preferable to the reality that the Americans alone took out the monster of the Middle East and that any peaceful protest against Saddam would have ended in another genocide.
Ever since the departure of the colonials, the United States, due to its power and principled support for democratic Israel, has served a Middle Eastern psychological need to account for its own self-created impotence and misery, a pathology abetted by our own past realpolitik and nurtured by the very autocrats that we sought to accommodate.
After all these years, do not expect praise or gratitude for billions poured into Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, or Palestine or thanks for the liberation of Kuwait, protection of Saudi Arabia in 1990, or the removal of Saddam — much less for American concern for Muslims in Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Somalia, the Sudan, or Afghanistan. Our past sins always must be magnified as much as our more recent benefactions are slighted.
In response, American policy should be predicated not on friendship or the desire for appreciation, but on what is in our national interest and what is right — whose symbiosis is possible only through the current policy of consistently promoting democracy. Constitutional government is not utopia — only the proper antidote for the sickness in the Middle East, and the one medicine that hateful jihadists, dictators, kings, terrorists, and theocrats all agree that they alike hate."
"Do not look for logic and consistency in the Middle East where they are not to be found. It makes no sense to be frustrated that Arab intellectuals and reformers damn us for removing Saddam and simultaneously praise democratic rumblings that followed his fall. We should accept that the only palatable scenario for the Arab Street was one equally fanciful: Brave demonstrators took to the barricades, forced Saddam’s departure, created a constitution, held elections, and then invited other Arab reformers into Baghdad to spread such indigenous reform — all resulting in a society as sophisticated, wealthy, free, and modern as the West, but felt to be morally superior because of its allegiance to Islam. That is the dream that is preferable to the reality that the Americans alone took out the monster of the Middle East and that any peaceful protest against Saddam would have ended in another genocide.
Ever since the departure of the colonials, the United States, due to its power and principled support for democratic Israel, has served a Middle Eastern psychological need to account for its own self-created impotence and misery, a pathology abetted by our own past realpolitik and nurtured by the very autocrats that we sought to accommodate.
After all these years, do not expect praise or gratitude for billions poured into Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, or Palestine or thanks for the liberation of Kuwait, protection of Saudi Arabia in 1990, or the removal of Saddam — much less for American concern for Muslims in Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Somalia, the Sudan, or Afghanistan. Our past sins always must be magnified as much as our more recent benefactions are slighted.
In response, American policy should be predicated not on friendship or the desire for appreciation, but on what is in our national interest and what is right — whose symbiosis is possible only through the current policy of consistently promoting democracy. Constitutional government is not utopia — only the proper antidote for the sickness in the Middle East, and the one medicine that hateful jihadists, dictators, kings, terrorists, and theocrats all agree that they alike hate."
10,000 reward for old mag. Oui's don't count Johnny...
Moore's Law original issue found
A copy of the original Electronics magazine in which Moore's Law was first published has turned up under the floorboards of a Surrey engineer.
David Clark had kept copies of the magazine for years, despite pleas from his wife to throw them away.
Now the couple are celebrating after collecting the $10,000 (£5,281) reward which was offered by chip maker Intel. Moore's Law, the principle that has driven the computer chip industry, celebrated 40 years this week. "I am totally astonished. It is the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to me," Mr Clark told the BBC News website. "I am really pleased about it because I studied physics and have always had interest in electronics. I could see the next 30 years were going to go like Moore's Law said, so I decided to go into electronics." The "law" was adopted after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore wrote in the 1965 Electronics magazine article that the number of transistors on a chip would double every 24 months.
Read about the impact of Moore's Law
Chips that can work faster and faster have driven the technological and digital revolution so far.
"We're delighted to at last have an original copy of the April 1965 edition of Electronics Magazine," said an Intel spokesperson. "Dr Moore's article established a theory that has underpinned advancements in the semiconductor industry over the past 40 years and is the basis of our continued research and development at Intel. "We are delighted to have a copy of the article back in the home of Intel in Santa Clara and are extremely grateful to Mr Clark for making this possible." The publication is now defunct, but neither Dr Moore, who is now retired, nor Intel had a mint condition original of the magazine.
Intel posted the reward on online auction site eBay in the run-up to the 40-year anniversary of the article on 19 April, in the hope that someone would have a copy for posterity.
Since the offer was posted, the search has been on all around the world to find an original.
A copy of the original Electronics magazine in which Moore's Law was first published has turned up under the floorboards of a Surrey engineer.
David Clark had kept copies of the magazine for years, despite pleas from his wife to throw them away.
Now the couple are celebrating after collecting the $10,000 (£5,281) reward which was offered by chip maker Intel. Moore's Law, the principle that has driven the computer chip industry, celebrated 40 years this week. "I am totally astonished. It is the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to me," Mr Clark told the BBC News website. "I am really pleased about it because I studied physics and have always had interest in electronics. I could see the next 30 years were going to go like Moore's Law said, so I decided to go into electronics." The "law" was adopted after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore wrote in the 1965 Electronics magazine article that the number of transistors on a chip would double every 24 months.
Read about the impact of Moore's Law
Chips that can work faster and faster have driven the technological and digital revolution so far.
"We're delighted to at last have an original copy of the April 1965 edition of Electronics Magazine," said an Intel spokesperson. "Dr Moore's article established a theory that has underpinned advancements in the semiconductor industry over the past 40 years and is the basis of our continued research and development at Intel. "We are delighted to have a copy of the article back in the home of Intel in Santa Clara and are extremely grateful to Mr Clark for making this possible." The publication is now defunct, but neither Dr Moore, who is now retired, nor Intel had a mint condition original of the magazine.
Intel posted the reward on online auction site eBay in the run-up to the 40-year anniversary of the article on 19 April, in the hope that someone would have a copy for posterity.
Since the offer was posted, the search has been on all around the world to find an original.
L.A. Attorney Moonlights As a Porn Star
Criminal defense attorney Ronald S. Miller does more than file briefs - he also takes them off.
Miller has spent days in front of a judge and nights in front of a camera as Don Hollywood, a porn star. His wife, a former accountant, is also a porn star.
"My whole life, I've been one of those people who sees the wet paint sign and has to go up and touch it to see if it's wet," said the 56-year-old Miller. "I want to experience everything, try everything."
He has appeared in more than 90 films in the past seven years.
Miller said he tells his clients about his night job and has had no trouble balancing the careers.
Ethics expert and attorney Arthur Margolis said Miller isn't breaking any rules moonlighting as a porn actor.
"There isn't anything more unethical about that than being an actor or a novelist or somebody who sells frozen yogurt," Margolis said. "The only thing you have to be careful of, as you would in any other industry, is you don't do anything criminal or unethical in the sense of dishonesty."
Diane Curtis, a spokeswoman for the California Bar Association, declined to comment on Miller's second career but said Wednesday the bar doesn't have a policy prohibiting such activity.
Miller has spent days in front of a judge and nights in front of a camera as Don Hollywood, a porn star. His wife, a former accountant, is also a porn star.
"My whole life, I've been one of those people who sees the wet paint sign and has to go up and touch it to see if it's wet," said the 56-year-old Miller. "I want to experience everything, try everything."
He has appeared in more than 90 films in the past seven years.
Miller said he tells his clients about his night job and has had no trouble balancing the careers.
Ethics expert and attorney Arthur Margolis said Miller isn't breaking any rules moonlighting as a porn actor.
"There isn't anything more unethical about that than being an actor or a novelist or somebody who sells frozen yogurt," Margolis said. "The only thing you have to be careful of, as you would in any other industry, is you don't do anything criminal or unethical in the sense of dishonesty."
Diane Curtis, a spokeswoman for the California Bar Association, declined to comment on Miller's second career but said Wednesday the bar doesn't have a policy prohibiting such activity.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
benedictxvi@vatican.va
Pope Benedict XVI Gets E-Mail Address
By WILLIAM J. KOLEAssociated Press WriterApril 21, 2005, 1:52 PM EDT
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI had an Internet fan club even when he was cardinal. Now the Vatican has taken the logical next step by giving him a papal e-mail address. The Holy See hasn't said how many messages the pope has gotten, but if the late John Paul II's experience with a multimedia ministry is any guide, the new leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics will have an inbox jammed with prayers, problems and pet peeves.
On Thursday, the Vatican modified its Web site so users who click on a "Greetings to the Holy Father" icon on the home page automatically activate an e-mail composer with his address in the send field. The address for messages in English is benedictxvi@vatican.va. There are also addresses for e-mails in Italian, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese.
By WILLIAM J. KOLEAssociated Press WriterApril 21, 2005, 1:52 PM EDT
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI had an Internet fan club even when he was cardinal. Now the Vatican has taken the logical next step by giving him a papal e-mail address. The Holy See hasn't said how many messages the pope has gotten, but if the late John Paul II's experience with a multimedia ministry is any guide, the new leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics will have an inbox jammed with prayers, problems and pet peeves.
On Thursday, the Vatican modified its Web site so users who click on a "Greetings to the Holy Father" icon on the home page automatically activate an e-mail composer with his address in the send field. The address for messages in English is benedictxvi@vatican.va. There are also addresses for e-mails in Italian, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese.
Dems and the UN
http://www.morningsentinel.com/news/2005/0412/Front_Page/006.html
Senate Democrats have won a delay, probably lasting a few weeks, to dig up more dirt on United Nations ambassador nominee John Bolton. But of course their real objection to Bolton is ideological, not temperamental: They take issue with his view of the U.N. So let's step back for a moment and ponder the nature of that disagreement, which the Los Angeles Times summed up nicely in an article on the hearings last week:
"Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., played a three-minute videotape of Bolton speaking angrily in 1994 about the United Nations. . . . "There is no such thing as the United Nations," Bolton said on the tape. "There is an international community that can occasionally be led by the only real power left in the world--and that is the United States, when it suits our interests and when we can get others to go along."
Boxer said the speech appeared to reflect Bolton's disdain for the world body.
"I see the anger, the hostility," Boxer said, adding, "What we saw here, I think, was the real John Bolton."
Bolton's view seems to be that the U.N. is useful and worthy of respect only insofar as it responds to American leadership and serves American interests. The Democrats' view, by contrast, seems to be that the U.S. has an obligation to follow the U.N., whether it acts in America's interests or not. That's why, for example, John Kerry*, who voted in 2002 to authorize U.S. military force in Iraq, changed his mind the next year when the U.N. Security Council balked at passing a resolution expressly permitting such action.
Only that's not quite right. The classic example of the U.S. leading the U.N. was the first Gulf War. In November 1990 the Security Council passed Resolution 678 http://www.fas.org/news/un/iraq/sres/sres0678.htm , which authorized member states "to use all necessary means," including military force, to liberate Kuwait, then under occupation by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. The resolution also "request[ed] all States to provide appropriate support" to that end.
In January 1991 Congress obliged. The House voted 250-183 http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1991/roll009.xml , with 179 Democrats voting "no," to authorize U.S. military force. The Senate vote was 52-47 with 45 Democrats voting "no." Only 86 House Democrats and 10 Senate Democrats voted in favor. Among the negative votes were all five current Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who were then in Congress: Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Paul Sarbanes and then-Rep. Barbara Boxer. All told, 25 of the 28 current Senate Democrats who were in Congress in 1991 voted against the Gulf War. (The three who voted for it, in case you're wondering, were Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Tom Carper of Delaware and Harry Reid of Nevada.)
So the U.N. gave the thumbs-up for military force and asked for help, and most Democrats balked. Only a handful of lawmakers, including Sen. Jim Jeffords, ex-Sen. Bob Graham, Reps. John Dingell and Jim Leach and a few other House members (along with Al Gore), took what might be considered the consistent pro-U.N. position, supporting the liberation of Kuwait but not Iraq. Most Dems who now pose as champions of the U.N. showed their disdain for the world body by voting to refuse its request for help in 1991.
It seems fair to conclude, then, that most liberal Democrats, like Bolton, are pro-U.N. only when it suits their purposes--and that their purposes are the opposite of Bolton's. That is, for the Democratic left, the U.N. is useful and worthy of respect only insofar as it acts as an obstacle to American leadership and an opponent of American interests.
Senate Democrats have won a delay, probably lasting a few weeks, to dig up more dirt on United Nations ambassador nominee John Bolton. But of course their real objection to Bolton is ideological, not temperamental: They take issue with his view of the U.N. So let's step back for a moment and ponder the nature of that disagreement, which the Los Angeles Times summed up nicely in an article on the hearings last week:
"Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., played a three-minute videotape of Bolton speaking angrily in 1994 about the United Nations. . . . "There is no such thing as the United Nations," Bolton said on the tape. "There is an international community that can occasionally be led by the only real power left in the world--and that is the United States, when it suits our interests and when we can get others to go along."
Boxer said the speech appeared to reflect Bolton's disdain for the world body.
"I see the anger, the hostility," Boxer said, adding, "What we saw here, I think, was the real John Bolton."
Bolton's view seems to be that the U.N. is useful and worthy of respect only insofar as it responds to American leadership and serves American interests. The Democrats' view, by contrast, seems to be that the U.S. has an obligation to follow the U.N., whether it acts in America's interests or not. That's why, for example, John Kerry*, who voted in 2002 to authorize U.S. military force in Iraq, changed his mind the next year when the U.N. Security Council balked at passing a resolution expressly permitting such action.
Only that's not quite right. The classic example of the U.S. leading the U.N. was the first Gulf War. In November 1990 the Security Council passed Resolution 678 http://www.fas.org/news/un/iraq/sres/sres0678.htm , which authorized member states "to use all necessary means," including military force, to liberate Kuwait, then under occupation by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. The resolution also "request[ed] all States to provide appropriate support" to that end.
In January 1991 Congress obliged. The House voted 250-183 http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1991/roll009.xml , with 179 Democrats voting "no," to authorize U.S. military force. The Senate vote was 52-47 with 45 Democrats voting "no." Only 86 House Democrats and 10 Senate Democrats voted in favor. Among the negative votes were all five current Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who were then in Congress: Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Paul Sarbanes and then-Rep. Barbara Boxer. All told, 25 of the 28 current Senate Democrats who were in Congress in 1991 voted against the Gulf War. (The three who voted for it, in case you're wondering, were Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Tom Carper of Delaware and Harry Reid of Nevada.)
So the U.N. gave the thumbs-up for military force and asked for help, and most Democrats balked. Only a handful of lawmakers, including Sen. Jim Jeffords, ex-Sen. Bob Graham, Reps. John Dingell and Jim Leach and a few other House members (along with Al Gore), took what might be considered the consistent pro-U.N. position, supporting the liberation of Kuwait but not Iraq. Most Dems who now pose as champions of the U.N. showed their disdain for the world body by voting to refuse its request for help in 1991.
It seems fair to conclude, then, that most liberal Democrats, like Bolton, are pro-U.N. only when it suits their purposes--and that their purposes are the opposite of Bolton's. That is, for the Democratic left, the U.N. is useful and worthy of respect only insofar as it acts as an obstacle to American leadership and an opponent of American interests.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Global Warming-
Not interested in mortgaging you children's futures to India and China?
http://www.gravito.com/globalwarming/
http://www.gravito.com/globalwarming/
Nice Balls
April 17, 2005
CANBERRA, Australia -- A surfer fought off a 7-foot shark with his board at an Australian beach Saturday -- then continued surfing, a lifeguard said.
Surfer Simon Letch, in his 30s, returned to Sydney's Bronte Beach 30 minutes after surviving the attack, despite the beach being closed because of the danger, lifeguard Aaron Graham said.
"He was pretty calm about it, very laid back," said Graham, who was on the beach when Letch rode his damaged board in.
Letch was among a small group of surfers sitting on their boards about 100 feet offshore at dawn Saturday when the shark attacked, Graham said.
"He jumped off the back and pushed the board toward the shark, keeping it between them," Graham said.
The shark took two bites of the fiberglass board before ceasing the attack, Graham said.
"There were two big puncture mark bites on the board, but it didn't actually bite a hunk out of it, so he was able to ride it in," he said.
The species of the shark wasn't known.
Last month, a 20-foot great white shark tore a man in half, killing him instantly as he snorkeled off Australia's west coast.
That was the first fatality in Australian waters since last December, when an 18-year-old surfer was bitten in half by a 16-foot great white off a beach in the southern city of Adelaide. A week earlier, a shark killed a 38-year-old diver spear-fishing on the Great Barrier Reef off northeast Australia.
CANBERRA, Australia -- A surfer fought off a 7-foot shark with his board at an Australian beach Saturday -- then continued surfing, a lifeguard said.
Surfer Simon Letch, in his 30s, returned to Sydney's Bronte Beach 30 minutes after surviving the attack, despite the beach being closed because of the danger, lifeguard Aaron Graham said.
"He was pretty calm about it, very laid back," said Graham, who was on the beach when Letch rode his damaged board in.
Letch was among a small group of surfers sitting on their boards about 100 feet offshore at dawn Saturday when the shark attacked, Graham said.
"He jumped off the back and pushed the board toward the shark, keeping it between them," Graham said.
The shark took two bites of the fiberglass board before ceasing the attack, Graham said.
"There were two big puncture mark bites on the board, but it didn't actually bite a hunk out of it, so he was able to ride it in," he said.
The species of the shark wasn't known.
Last month, a 20-foot great white shark tore a man in half, killing him instantly as he snorkeled off Australia's west coast.
That was the first fatality in Australian waters since last December, when an 18-year-old surfer was bitten in half by a 16-foot great white off a beach in the southern city of Adelaide. A week earlier, a shark killed a 38-year-old diver spear-fishing on the Great Barrier Reef off northeast Australia.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Edward Forty Hands
Edward Forty Hands
Drinking game, where one duct tapes a 40 to each hand and must drink both fortys before removing them from their hands.
Check out these pics-
http://www.40ozmaltliquor.com/edward40hands.html
Drinking game, where one duct tapes a 40 to each hand and must drink both fortys before removing them from their hands.
Check out these pics-
http://www.40ozmaltliquor.com/edward40hands.html
Herr Pope!
VATICAN CITY, April 19 -- Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany Tuesday as the new pope to succeed John Paul II, reaching an early agreement on the second day of voting.
He took the name of Benedict XVI.
He took the name of Benedict XVI.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Asian WW?
"Japan and China will likely manage these issues in the short-term; Japan's foreign minister was in Beijing yesterday for talks. But the growing rivalry is only likely to get worse. And that would undermine regional stability - and American interests.
For starters, China might not pressure its ally, North Korea, back to the nuclear negotiating table. Beijing knows well Tokyo's anxiety about Pyongyang's nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs.
Second, as political relations with Japan deteriorate, China is likely to accelerate its military buildup, especially its ocean-going navy. This would further ratchet up tensions with Taiwan and Japan - and the U.S., which has defense commitments to both Taipei and Tokyo.
Third, China's belligerence may well force Tokyo and Taipei into each other's embrace, forming a "virtual alliance" against Beijing. This won't settle well with China at all, which considers Taiwan a "renegade province."
Washington should be deeply concerned about the growing Tokyo-Beijing rivalry. The U.S. and China just established a high-level "Global Dialogue," and when they meet, Washington must clearly register its concerns with Beijing about the prospects of Chinese adventurism or miscalculation in the region. The U.S. must also caution China that we will stand behind our Japanese ally."
For starters, China might not pressure its ally, North Korea, back to the nuclear negotiating table. Beijing knows well Tokyo's anxiety about Pyongyang's nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs.
Second, as political relations with Japan deteriorate, China is likely to accelerate its military buildup, especially its ocean-going navy. This would further ratchet up tensions with Taiwan and Japan - and the U.S., which has defense commitments to both Taipei and Tokyo.
Third, China's belligerence may well force Tokyo and Taipei into each other's embrace, forming a "virtual alliance" against Beijing. This won't settle well with China at all, which considers Taiwan a "renegade province."
Washington should be deeply concerned about the growing Tokyo-Beijing rivalry. The U.S. and China just established a high-level "Global Dialogue," and when they meet, Washington must clearly register its concerns with Beijing about the prospects of Chinese adventurism or miscalculation in the region. The U.S. must also caution China that we will stand behind our Japanese ally."
Almanac Tidbits
In 1934 on this day, the first laundromat opened in America. J.F. Cantrell opened the Washateria in Fort Worth, Texas with four electric washing machines. He charged by the hour for use of his machines.
In 1923 on this day, Yankee Stadium opened in New York City. Opening day, it was Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox. The official count was seventy-four thousand, two hundred fans who packed the stands before the fire department ordered the gates closed. The Yankees won the game that day, capped by a three-run homer by Babe Ruth himself.
In 1906 on this day, there was a great earthquake in San Francisco that killed five hundred people and destroyed three thousand acres in the heart of the city.
In 1775 on this day, Paul Revere took the famous ride that was immortalized in poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (books by this author). At the time, the British regulars wanted to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams (who were in Lexington) and made what they thought were secret plans to capture the two men. Their plans were discovered, however, and Revere had made arrangements to signal the patriots by lighting two lanterns in Boston's North Church steeple if the British were coming by sea, and one if they were coming by land. Revere rode out on the night of April 18th to warn Hancock and Adams that the British were on their way.
In 1923 on this day, Yankee Stadium opened in New York City. Opening day, it was Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox. The official count was seventy-four thousand, two hundred fans who packed the stands before the fire department ordered the gates closed. The Yankees won the game that day, capped by a three-run homer by Babe Ruth himself.
In 1906 on this day, there was a great earthquake in San Francisco that killed five hundred people and destroyed three thousand acres in the heart of the city.
In 1775 on this day, Paul Revere took the famous ride that was immortalized in poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (books by this author). At the time, the British regulars wanted to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams (who were in Lexington) and made what they thought were secret plans to capture the two men. Their plans were discovered, however, and Revere had made arrangements to signal the patriots by lighting two lanterns in Boston's North Church steeple if the British were coming by sea, and one if they were coming by land. Revere rode out on the night of April 18th to warn Hancock and Adams that the British were on their way.
Bob Crane’s Erotic Addiction
Best known for his work as a TV and movie star, Bob Crane also made a name for himself as an amateur photographer and videographer. Positioned on the cutting-edge of photographic technology, Bob always developed his own photos and was making short adult films as early as 1956.
When he wasn't in front Hollywood's cameras, Bob was behind his own camera, religiously recording everything - from his most intimate bedroom moment to his very sexy, and remarkably active, '70s-swinger lifestyle.
At once erotic, beautiful, intense, and oftentimes surprising, the photos and videos you will see here are certain to be like nothing you have ever seen before. . . .
Currently we are featuring a portion of Bob's 1950's erotic film archives starring Bob Crane. Video's 1- 17 are from 1956. Nine years before Patricia Crane, Hogan's Heroes, and John Carpenter, Bob Crane was making erotic home movies. (Note: The woman in the film is not Bob's wife.) Sony, Schrader, Robert David, Graysmith, and Gerbosi - have all mislead you. Here now - is the video proof - and only at bobcrane.com.
We are also showcasing 98 of Bob's erotic photographs from the early 1950's to the late 1970's. Once again, you can only find this material at bobcrane.com
When he wasn't in front Hollywood's cameras, Bob was behind his own camera, religiously recording everything - from his most intimate bedroom moment to his very sexy, and remarkably active, '70s-swinger lifestyle.
At once erotic, beautiful, intense, and oftentimes surprising, the photos and videos you will see here are certain to be like nothing you have ever seen before. . . .
Currently we are featuring a portion of Bob's 1950's erotic film archives starring Bob Crane. Video's 1- 17 are from 1956. Nine years before Patricia Crane, Hogan's Heroes, and John Carpenter, Bob Crane was making erotic home movies. (Note: The woman in the film is not Bob's wife.) Sony, Schrader, Robert David, Graysmith, and Gerbosi - have all mislead you. Here now - is the video proof - and only at bobcrane.com.
We are also showcasing 98 of Bob's erotic photographs from the early 1950's to the late 1970's. Once again, you can only find this material at bobcrane.com
Friday, April 15, 2005
Loan Agreement
By Jerome Martelli
And all I have to do is to sign on the dotted line... and initial there... and there... and there. What? Oh, right. I forgot to sign there. No problem. This pen still has plenty of ink. There! All finished.
Now that that's all squared away, there's something you should know. Whatever you thought about me, you got it all wrong. I didn't come here looking to make nice. I came here because I had to. And now that I got what I want, you and I should arrive at an understanding, Mister Banker Man. I'm not locked into this 5.75-percent, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with you. You're locked into this 5.75-percent, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with me.
You might think that just because you're lending me money to buy my first home, I'm gonna kiss your ass and play toady to some underwriter. Think again, pencil pusher.
I'm not like those other loan applicants that sit at your feet, sniveling and begging for money. I'm loco. I don't give a fuck. Look into my eyes and tell me what you see. Yeah, I'm one crazy, money-borrowing son of a bitch.
You want to test me? Huh? Try coming at me with some sort of acceleration clause. I'll lose my shirt and get all up in your bank's face.
This contract here? Means nothing to me. Nothing. Some months, I might refuse to pay you the sums that were agreed upon in the terms of the loan. Other months, I might pay five times the amount due. Sometimes, I'll race in 30 seconds before the bank closes and make my payment all in one-dollar bills. Yeah, this little borrower is a problem you're going to be dealing with long after closing. Thirty years, to be exact, assuming I don't flip out and default on that loan.
A guy would have to be crazy to try something like that, is that what you're thinking? Brother, I'm your worst nightmare. Sure, I have a job that pays well right now. You know that—you verified my employment history. But who's to say I'm going to have that job next year, next month, or next week? Hey, I might not even have it tomorrow. In fact, I'm feeling like I might just call my boss and tell him off right now. Can I borrow your phone? No problem. I have my cell.
Psyche! See, you've gotta be on your toes around me. How can I take you seriously if you frighten that easily?
Hey, nice try. Amortization! Ah, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. My payments are just where I want them. I didn't walk into this situation blind. Let me explain something to you, hopefully for the very last time, because I am this close to going off the deep end and refinancing this loan.
You think I'm jerking you around? You keep flapping your lips about a second appraisal of the property, and you'll see some real jerking around, Pedro.
I'm gonna back out of this office real nice and quiet, and we're both gonna make believe this little meeting never took place. Just remember, though, I'm watching you. If I see one black mark on my credit report—if my score dips a single point below 700—I'm coming down on you harder than a ton of bricks.
And all I have to do is to sign on the dotted line... and initial there... and there... and there. What? Oh, right. I forgot to sign there. No problem. This pen still has plenty of ink. There! All finished.
Now that that's all squared away, there's something you should know. Whatever you thought about me, you got it all wrong. I didn't come here looking to make nice. I came here because I had to. And now that I got what I want, you and I should arrive at an understanding, Mister Banker Man. I'm not locked into this 5.75-percent, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with you. You're locked into this 5.75-percent, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with me.
You might think that just because you're lending me money to buy my first home, I'm gonna kiss your ass and play toady to some underwriter. Think again, pencil pusher.
I'm not like those other loan applicants that sit at your feet, sniveling and begging for money. I'm loco. I don't give a fuck. Look into my eyes and tell me what you see. Yeah, I'm one crazy, money-borrowing son of a bitch.
You want to test me? Huh? Try coming at me with some sort of acceleration clause. I'll lose my shirt and get all up in your bank's face.
This contract here? Means nothing to me. Nothing. Some months, I might refuse to pay you the sums that were agreed upon in the terms of the loan. Other months, I might pay five times the amount due. Sometimes, I'll race in 30 seconds before the bank closes and make my payment all in one-dollar bills. Yeah, this little borrower is a problem you're going to be dealing with long after closing. Thirty years, to be exact, assuming I don't flip out and default on that loan.
A guy would have to be crazy to try something like that, is that what you're thinking? Brother, I'm your worst nightmare. Sure, I have a job that pays well right now. You know that—you verified my employment history. But who's to say I'm going to have that job next year, next month, or next week? Hey, I might not even have it tomorrow. In fact, I'm feeling like I might just call my boss and tell him off right now. Can I borrow your phone? No problem. I have my cell.
Psyche! See, you've gotta be on your toes around me. How can I take you seriously if you frighten that easily?
Hey, nice try. Amortization! Ah, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. My payments are just where I want them. I didn't walk into this situation blind. Let me explain something to you, hopefully for the very last time, because I am this close to going off the deep end and refinancing this loan.
You think I'm jerking you around? You keep flapping your lips about a second appraisal of the property, and you'll see some real jerking around, Pedro.
I'm gonna back out of this office real nice and quiet, and we're both gonna make believe this little meeting never took place. Just remember, though, I'm watching you. If I see one black mark on my credit report—if my score dips a single point below 700—I'm coming down on you harder than a ton of bricks.
Logic Studies
Law of excluded middle
The law of excluded middle (tertium non datur in Latin) states that for any proposition P, it is true that (P or ~P). (The tilde symbol, '~', reads 'not'.)
For example, if P is
Joe is bald
then the inclusive disjunction
Joe is bald, or Joe is not bald is true.
This is not quite the same as the principle of bivalence, which states that P must be either true or false. It also differs from the law of noncontradiction, which states that ~(P and ~P) is true. The law of excluded middle only says that the total (P or ~P) is true, but does not comment on what truth values P itself may take. In any case, the semantics of any bivalent logic will assign opposite truth values to P and ~P (i.e., if P is true, then ~P is false), so the law of excluded middle will be equivalent to the principle of bivalence in a bivalent logic. However, the same cannot be said about non-bivalent logics, or many-valued logics.
Certain systems of logic may reject bivalence by allowing more than two truth values (i.e., true, false, and indeterminate), but accept the law of excluded middle. In such logics, (P or ~P) may be true while P and ~P are not assigned opposite truth-values like true and false, respectively.
Some logics do not accept the law of excluded middle, most notably intuitionistic logic. The article bivalence and related laws discusses this issue in greater detail.
The law of excluded middle can be misapplied, leading to the logical fallacy of the excluded middle, also known as a false dilemma.
The law of excluded middle (tertium non datur in Latin) states that for any proposition P, it is true that (P or ~P). (The tilde symbol, '~', reads 'not'.)
For example, if P is
Joe is bald
then the inclusive disjunction
Joe is bald, or Joe is not bald is true.
This is not quite the same as the principle of bivalence, which states that P must be either true or false. It also differs from the law of noncontradiction, which states that ~(P and ~P) is true. The law of excluded middle only says that the total (P or ~P) is true, but does not comment on what truth values P itself may take. In any case, the semantics of any bivalent logic will assign opposite truth values to P and ~P (i.e., if P is true, then ~P is false), so the law of excluded middle will be equivalent to the principle of bivalence in a bivalent logic. However, the same cannot be said about non-bivalent logics, or many-valued logics.
Certain systems of logic may reject bivalence by allowing more than two truth values (i.e., true, false, and indeterminate), but accept the law of excluded middle. In such logics, (P or ~P) may be true while P and ~P are not assigned opposite truth-values like true and false, respectively.
Some logics do not accept the law of excluded middle, most notably intuitionistic logic. The article bivalence and related laws discusses this issue in greater detail.
The law of excluded middle can be misapplied, leading to the logical fallacy of the excluded middle, also known as a false dilemma.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
West Point CTC
Here’s a good site for information and analyses of world terrorism, the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point strives to develop an internationally recognized center for terrorism studies to understand better the foreign and domestic terrorist threats to security, to educate leaders who will have responsibilities to counter terrorism, and to provide policy analysis and assistance to leaders dealing with the current and future terrorist threat.
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point strives to develop an internationally recognized center for terrorism studies to understand better the foreign and domestic terrorist threats to security, to educate leaders who will have responsibilities to counter terrorism, and to provide policy analysis and assistance to leaders dealing with the current and future terrorist threat.
Tymoshenko
Cortes sent me this msg today-
http://www.tymoshenko.com.ua/eng/index/
Are you familiar with her? she is fascinating - crazy rich energy czarina, prime minister of ukraine and hot, hot, hot- very machiavellian figure
>>
Shortly before leaving Kiev on Monday morning January 24, [2005] Yushchenko signed a decree appointing Tymoshenko acting prime minister; officials expect a vote on her appointment, which must be approved by parliament, in early February. Tymoshenko, 44, was the darling of the crowd on Independence Square in Kiev during the Orange Revolution, the street protest movement that erupted after a controversial Nov. 21 presidential runoff in which Yanukovych was declared the winner. The election was subsequently declared fraudulent and the result overturned by the Supreme Court, which ordered a Dec. 26 rerun. Tymoshenko's fiery speeches, along with her alternating folkloric and high-fashion dress, were in sharp contrast to Yushchenko's more conservative appearance and speaking style. But her radical pronouncements and her mocking wit, sometimes directed at Putin, galvanized Yushchenko's political enemies as much as they energized the crowd in Independence Square.
http://www.tymoshenko.com.ua/eng/index/
Are you familiar with her? she is fascinating - crazy rich energy czarina, prime minister of ukraine and hot, hot, hot- very machiavellian figure
>>
Shortly before leaving Kiev on Monday morning January 24, [2005] Yushchenko signed a decree appointing Tymoshenko acting prime minister; officials expect a vote on her appointment, which must be approved by parliament, in early February. Tymoshenko, 44, was the darling of the crowd on Independence Square in Kiev during the Orange Revolution, the street protest movement that erupted after a controversial Nov. 21 presidential runoff in which Yanukovych was declared the winner. The election was subsequently declared fraudulent and the result overturned by the Supreme Court, which ordered a Dec. 26 rerun. Tymoshenko's fiery speeches, along with her alternating folkloric and high-fashion dress, were in sharp contrast to Yushchenko's more conservative appearance and speaking style. But her radical pronouncements and her mocking wit, sometimes directed at Putin, galvanized Yushchenko's political enemies as much as they energized the crowd in Independence Square.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Two Pints of Lager and a packet of chips- Wogs Out!
Hooligans on rampage
By Lech Mintowt-czyz, Evening Standard 13 April 2005
A Liverpool supporter was clubbed around the head with a baseball bat by a gang of rival Juventus fans as tension rose in Turin before tonight's Champions League clash.
Eight people have been arrested following the attack, which happened in a bar and left the victim badly hurt. It is 20 years since 39 Juventus fans died in the Heysel stadium disaster at the final of the competition between the two teams. The incident happened after rioting Italian fans forced last night's Champions League quarterfinal to be abandoned after hurling flares and bottles on to the pitch. AC Milan's goalkeeper was hit and injured by one of the flares thrown towards the end of the match against arch rivals Inter Milan. Inter look set to be hit by a big fine and a three European match ban from their San Siro stadium. Trouble started after referee Markus Merk disallowed an Inter goal. As riot police moved into the crowd to prevent chaos, one flare hit goalkeeper Nelson Dida on the shoulder, leaving him with burns and bruises. In 10 minutes of mayhem, flares and debris continued to rain down on Dida even as he was given medical treatment and Merk called the players off the pitch for their own safety. After a 25-minute break during which firefighters were called in to clear the pitch, the match resumed - only to be called off completely after less than a minute and with 17 minutes still to play as Inter Milan thugs restarted their barrage. Milan police chief Paolo Scarpi said officers had confiscated "a large number" of flares from fans before the game but admitted dozens had been missed
By Lech Mintowt-czyz, Evening Standard 13 April 2005
A Liverpool supporter was clubbed around the head with a baseball bat by a gang of rival Juventus fans as tension rose in Turin before tonight's Champions League clash.
Eight people have been arrested following the attack, which happened in a bar and left the victim badly hurt. It is 20 years since 39 Juventus fans died in the Heysel stadium disaster at the final of the competition between the two teams. The incident happened after rioting Italian fans forced last night's Champions League quarterfinal to be abandoned after hurling flares and bottles on to the pitch. AC Milan's goalkeeper was hit and injured by one of the flares thrown towards the end of the match against arch rivals Inter Milan. Inter look set to be hit by a big fine and a three European match ban from their San Siro stadium. Trouble started after referee Markus Merk disallowed an Inter goal. As riot police moved into the crowd to prevent chaos, one flare hit goalkeeper Nelson Dida on the shoulder, leaving him with burns and bruises. In 10 minutes of mayhem, flares and debris continued to rain down on Dida even as he was given medical treatment and Merk called the players off the pitch for their own safety. After a 25-minute break during which firefighters were called in to clear the pitch, the match resumed - only to be called off completely after less than a minute and with 17 minutes still to play as Inter Milan thugs restarted their barrage. Milan police chief Paolo Scarpi said officers had confiscated "a large number" of flares from fans before the game but admitted dozens had been missed
the Fugitive
Rudolph was first identified as a suspect in the Alabama bombing by the Department of Justice on February 14, 1998. He was named as a suspect in the three Atlanta incidents on October 14, 1998.
On May 5, 1998, he became one of the FBI ten most wanted fugitives. The FBI considered him to be armed and extremely dangerous, and offered a $1,000,000 reward for information leading directly to his arrest. He spent more than five years in the Appalachian wilderness as a fugitive, during which federal and amateur search teams scoured the area without success.
It is thought that Rudolph had the assistance of sympathizers while evading capture. Some in the area were vocal in support of him. Two country music songs were written about him and a locally top-selling T-shirt read: "Run Rudolph Run." Many Christian Identity adherents are outspoken in their support of Rudolph; the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group, notes that "extremist chatter on the Internet has praised Rudolph as 'a hero' and some followers of hate groups are calling for further acts of violence to be modeled after the bombings he is accused of committing."
Rudolph was finally arrested in Murphy, North Carolina, on May 31, 2003, as he scavenged for food in a garbage can behind a Save-A-Lot store. To the surprise of many in law enforcement, he was unarmed and did not resist arrest. Federal authorities charged him October 14, 1998. Despite being portrayed as an extreme anti-Semite, Rudolph was defended by a Jewish attorney, Richard S. Jaffe. His attorney said he knew about Rudolph's beliefs but said his client didn't have a problem with his Jewish faith.
The identification and pursuit of Rudolph was characterized by several bizarre incidents. The Justice Department was forced to apologize to Richard Jewell, whom they first hailed as a hero in the Olympic bombing, and later falsely identified as a suspect. After the Olympic bombing, Eric visited his gay brother Jamie in New York, quoting Rush Limbaugh over dinner. On March 7, 1998, Daniel Rudolph, Eric's older brother, videotaped himself cutting off one of his own hands with an electric saw in order to "send a message to the FBI and the media." The hand was successfully reattached.
On April 8, 2005, the U.S. Justice Department announced that Rudolph had pled guilty to all the attacks he was accused of executing in exchange for four life sentences in a U.S. federal prison. The deal was confirmed after the FBI found 250 pounds of dynamite he had hidden in the forests of North Carolina. His revelation of the dynamite was a condition of his plea agreement.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Check out the link to see Tom's new Hog-
dumber.wav(418K) dumber.mp3(418K)
Lloyd: Got room for one more if you still want to go to Aspen.
Harry: Where did you find that?
Lloyd: Some kid back in town, traded the van for it strait up. I can get 70 miles to the gallon on this hog.
Harry: You know Lloyd, just when I think you couldn't be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totaly redeem yourself!
http://portland.craigslist.org/mcy/66462724.html
Lloyd: Got room for one more if you still want to go to Aspen.
Harry: Where did you find that?
Lloyd: Some kid back in town, traded the van for it strait up. I can get 70 miles to the gallon on this hog.
Harry: You know Lloyd, just when I think you couldn't be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totaly redeem yourself!
http://portland.craigslist.org/mcy/66462724.html
Writer Almanac Tidbit
On this day in 1871, Robert Louis Stevenson, 20 years old, told his father he was giving up engineering to become a writer, (books by this author). He suffered from chronic poor health—he would die of tuberculosis at 44—which had made schooling difficult, yet he was expected to carry on his father's trade of lighthouse design. He married a divorced American, and the couple moved to Switzerland, where he wrote the adventure story Treasure Island (1883). He later wrote Kidnapped (1887), and A Child's Garden of Verses (1885).
Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®
Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®
The Beard in Wonderland
There are at least 4 inches of snow on the ground and it is still coming down. I wore shorts yesterday and rode my bike. This town has sabotaged my trust in the weather. I thought myself to be pretty in tune with nature. I now see this is completely a delusion. I was absolutely sure the weather had broke and spring was on its way to summer. I very well could have lead the Donner party. I have been duped by God! On the cannibal question; I have thought long and hard, I have read the book and seen the movie of "Survival" I have also been to Donner's pass where there is now a Burger King, it is outside of Tahoe, a very expensive place to buy tire chains, especially when you had left the majority of your navy paycheck with "Circus Circus" and they are required, I would eat another human to survive, let me make this clear - I haven't done the math but I would eat myself if need be, until I was nothing but teeth , brain and stomach. The brain must live, and it is no party without its friends chompers and tummy. So you should all be warned that if we go down together in a plane or get stuck in a life boat, or have a pot to bacon ratio error while camping, while you are wrestling with the moral turmoil of survival v. cannibalism, I will be gathering sage.
I have not had a grown up job in a very long time. I find people like me but I feel they are sometimes, oh I think "frightened" may be the apt word. I think when people talk they are essentially saying "comfort me, comfort me" I have a real hard time with this padded style of communication. How come if I say for instance when a co-worker tells me that he and his ex-wife are reuniting that "the definition of stupid is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different outcome" why am I the bad guy. I am not trying to hurt someones feelings I just think people should see the whole picture. All of sudden I am "Judgemental" what the hell is this about, what I take from it is that it is okay to judge if everyone is innocent, you hang someone and boom your an asshole. I have a real problem with this mentality in that I know I will never be a great man if I only seek out and get approval, I think life and vocation should foster a good deal of edge walking. I am terrified to think that I don't exist in a real world, but in some sort of fantasy pillow factory where everything I do is completely right or so inconsequential that it inspires nothing but half hearted approval from those around me. Tom I have tried that "Feel, Felt, Found" format and I am a little disappointed in saying it works like a charm. If you are going to do this with a co-worker I recommend you choose one to expirement with, cause this thing is so good it is like magic, and giving it to too many people will make you employee of the month but the cool kids won't talk to you.
My other work faux pas for the week involved a Bobby Knight quote. I work with people who got into medicine when ER was in its heyday. Although the hospital is not fast paced nor the staffed over worked, most of the employees always feel they are "slammed" or "hosed" (which if I am ever in power these will be the last words an employee speaks under my tutelage), they take on the persona of an over worked TV doctor. So last week this guy is going on and on about the shitty ward doc ordering too many things and I say to him in the elevator (which I feel to be the new confessional where a certain amount of immunity should be afforded) that "if rape is inevitable to lay back and enjoy it." I was being sarcastic because this guy is such a fart head, but boom I am insensitive. I was planning to move back to Portland but I don't know if I would succeed there with everyone being so offendable. I may have to move to Montana or a non-english speaking country or just develop a three word sentence policy while at work. By the way I care about patients immensly, I am full of compassion for the ill and their families. Maybe this is the reason I never feeled "hosed" or "slammed".
I have not had a grown up job in a very long time. I find people like me but I feel they are sometimes, oh I think "frightened" may be the apt word. I think when people talk they are essentially saying "comfort me, comfort me" I have a real hard time with this padded style of communication. How come if I say for instance when a co-worker tells me that he and his ex-wife are reuniting that "the definition of stupid is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different outcome" why am I the bad guy. I am not trying to hurt someones feelings I just think people should see the whole picture. All of sudden I am "Judgemental" what the hell is this about, what I take from it is that it is okay to judge if everyone is innocent, you hang someone and boom your an asshole. I have a real problem with this mentality in that I know I will never be a great man if I only seek out and get approval, I think life and vocation should foster a good deal of edge walking. I am terrified to think that I don't exist in a real world, but in some sort of fantasy pillow factory where everything I do is completely right or so inconsequential that it inspires nothing but half hearted approval from those around me. Tom I have tried that "Feel, Felt, Found" format and I am a little disappointed in saying it works like a charm. If you are going to do this with a co-worker I recommend you choose one to expirement with, cause this thing is so good it is like magic, and giving it to too many people will make you employee of the month but the cool kids won't talk to you.
My other work faux pas for the week involved a Bobby Knight quote. I work with people who got into medicine when ER was in its heyday. Although the hospital is not fast paced nor the staffed over worked, most of the employees always feel they are "slammed" or "hosed" (which if I am ever in power these will be the last words an employee speaks under my tutelage), they take on the persona of an over worked TV doctor. So last week this guy is going on and on about the shitty ward doc ordering too many things and I say to him in the elevator (which I feel to be the new confessional where a certain amount of immunity should be afforded) that "if rape is inevitable to lay back and enjoy it." I was being sarcastic because this guy is such a fart head, but boom I am insensitive. I was planning to move back to Portland but I don't know if I would succeed there with everyone being so offendable. I may have to move to Montana or a non-english speaking country or just develop a three word sentence policy while at work. By the way I care about patients immensly, I am full of compassion for the ill and their families. Maybe this is the reason I never feeled "hosed" or "slammed".
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Pork Barrel Awards
Three hundred thousand dollars to improve public transport at Disneyland in California; $25,000 to fund the study of Mexican mariachi music in Nevada schools; $70,000 for the Paper Industry Hall of Fame in Wisconsin; and $100,000 to a charitable foundation run by Tiger Woods, the multi-millionaire golfer.
These were among the winners in the 2005 Oinkers, an annual award ceremony in Washington to recognise the most egregious examples of pork barrel spending by vote-hungry US politicians.
Paper Industry Hall of Fame?
These were among the winners in the 2005 Oinkers, an annual award ceremony in Washington to recognise the most egregious examples of pork barrel spending by vote-hungry US politicians.
Paper Industry Hall of Fame?
Daylight Savings Change
WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - A House committee voted on Wednesday to expand U.S. daylight-saving time by two months to help reduce energy consumption...The panel agreed in a voice vote to move the start of daylight-saving time in the United States -- which occurs when clocks are turned forward by one hour -- one month earlier to the first Sunday in March. The end of daylight time would be moved back one month to the last Sunday in November.
Supporters of the amendment, sponsored by Michigan Republican Fred Upton, said it would save about 10,000 barrels of oil a day because offices and stores would be open while it was still light outside and therefore use less energy.
The move would also help businesses in downtown areas, supporters said. "There's more economic activity, because people feel they can walk around safely," said Democrat Edward Markey of Massachusetts.
Supporters of the amendment, sponsored by Michigan Republican Fred Upton, said it would save about 10,000 barrels of oil a day because offices and stores would be open while it was still light outside and therefore use less energy.
The move would also help businesses in downtown areas, supporters said. "There's more economic activity, because people feel they can walk around safely," said Democrat Edward Markey of Massachusetts.
Goodnight Irene
Leadbelly (January 29, 1885 – December 6, 1949) was an influential blues singer and guitarist. He was born Huddie William Ledbetter in Mooringsport, Louisiana, and died in New York in 1949. Leadbelly was a monumental figure in the history of US folk music. Notable for his forceful singing and guitar playing, but also for the collection of songs he brought to wider attention (many of them adapted from other sources). He was "discovered" by John and Alan Lomax, in prison in Louisiana, where he was recorded on portable recording equipment. It is claimed by Alan Lomax that he was pardoned by the state governor, O.K. Allen, after Allen heard his recordings, which supposedly included an appeal by song directed to him.
Leadbelly subsequently toured extensively but ended up back in prison in 1939, convicted of assault. (He served four separate prison terms for his violent behaviour.)
After this last prison term, Leadbelly moved to New York in 1940 and associated with Woody Guthrie and the young Pete Seeger among others. His best recordings were made for Capitol records in California during the mid 1940s. Leadbelly played a twelve string guitar and had a high clear voice. One of his best known songs "Goodnight Irene," recorded by many artists, was a number one hit for The Weavers in 1950. Songs that Leadbelly introduced provided material for numerous folk, country, pop and rock acts including Lonnie Donegan, Johnny Cash, Gene Autry, The Beach Boys and Creedence Clearwater Revival. One of the more notable covers of his work in recent time was done by Nirvana in December 1993, when they played Ledbelly's "In the Pines", which was retitled as "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" as the closer to their legendary appearance for the MTV Unplugged series, which was subsequently released as an album. It should be noted, though, that this song was not originally written by Leadbelly as Cobain had stated. Leadbelly died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Leadbelly subsequently toured extensively but ended up back in prison in 1939, convicted of assault. (He served four separate prison terms for his violent behaviour.)
After this last prison term, Leadbelly moved to New York in 1940 and associated with Woody Guthrie and the young Pete Seeger among others. His best recordings were made for Capitol records in California during the mid 1940s. Leadbelly played a twelve string guitar and had a high clear voice. One of his best known songs "Goodnight Irene," recorded by many artists, was a number one hit for The Weavers in 1950. Songs that Leadbelly introduced provided material for numerous folk, country, pop and rock acts including Lonnie Donegan, Johnny Cash, Gene Autry, The Beach Boys and Creedence Clearwater Revival. One of the more notable covers of his work in recent time was done by Nirvana in December 1993, when they played Ledbelly's "In the Pines", which was retitled as "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" as the closer to their legendary appearance for the MTV Unplugged series, which was subsequently released as an album. It should be noted, though, that this song was not originally written by Leadbelly as Cobain had stated. Leadbelly died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Get your Art on
WHO:
Chris Haberman is a working writer/painter/musician in the Portland area, his home town. He has shown artwork around town for the last 4 years and has been published in many publications and newspapers, including ones with naked girls holding large guns.
WHAT:
Haberman’s work is created on found (post-consumer materials), given, stolen or “found” on the deadly streets of Portland, OR. Images created are “folk-art” in nature, a spontaneous layering of bright color and art material (paint, glue, charcoal, ink pen, oil stik, lipstick, etc.) reflecting pop-culture, music, film, literature and/or modern day.
WHEN:
April 8th- May 3rd
Opening reception April 8th 6pm-10pm with the artist
WHERE:
FIX gallery 811 E. Burnside, Portland
503-233-3189
Check out your roof-
Google Shows Off Satellite Map Feature
SAN FRANCISCO -- Online search engine leader Google Inc. has unveiled a new feature that will enable its users to zoom in on homes and businesses using satellite images, an advance that may raise privacy concerns as well as intensify the competitive pressures on its rivals.
The satellite technology, which Google began offering late Monday at http://Maps.Google.com, is part of the package that the Mountain View-based company acquired when it bought digital map maker Keyhole Corp. for an undisclosed amount nearly six months ago.
This marks the first time since the deal closed that Google has offered free access to Keyhole's high-tech maps through its search engine. Users previously had to pay $29.95 to download a version of Keyhole's basic software package. A more traditional map will continue to be the first choice served up by Google's search engine. Users will have the option of retrieving a satellite picture by clicking on a button.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Online search engine leader Google Inc. has unveiled a new feature that will enable its users to zoom in on homes and businesses using satellite images, an advance that may raise privacy concerns as well as intensify the competitive pressures on its rivals.
The satellite technology, which Google began offering late Monday at http://Maps.Google.com, is part of the package that the Mountain View-based company acquired when it bought digital map maker Keyhole Corp. for an undisclosed amount nearly six months ago.
This marks the first time since the deal closed that Google has offered free access to Keyhole's high-tech maps through its search engine. Users previously had to pay $29.95 to download a version of Keyhole's basic software package. A more traditional map will continue to be the first choice served up by Google's search engine. Users will have the option of retrieving a satellite picture by clicking on a button.
Nobel Laureate Saul Bellow Dies at 89
Nobel laureate Saul Bellow, a master of comic melancholy who in "Herzog," "Humboldt's Gift" and other novels both championed and mourned the soul's fate in the modern world, died Tuesday. He was 89.
Bellow's close friend and attorney, Walter Pozen, said the writer had been in declining health, but was "wonderfully sharp to the end." Pozen said that Bellow's wife and daughter were at his side when he died at his home in Brookline, Mass.
Bellow was the most acclaimed of a generation of Jewish writers who emerged after World War II, among them Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth and Cynthia Ozick. To American letters, he brought the immigrant's hustle, the bookworm's brains and the high-minded notions of the born romantic.
Bellow's close friend and attorney, Walter Pozen, said the writer had been in declining health, but was "wonderfully sharp to the end." Pozen said that Bellow's wife and daughter were at his side when he died at his home in Brookline, Mass.
Bellow was the most acclaimed of a generation of Jewish writers who emerged after World War II, among them Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth and Cynthia Ozick. To American letters, he brought the immigrant's hustle, the bookworm's brains and the high-minded notions of the born romantic.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
John Brown's Body
Christopher Hitchens has a great article on Abolitionist John Brown in the Atlantic this month:
"Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry failed badly, of course, but the courage and bearing he demonstrated after his humiliating defeat were of an order to impress his captors, who announced that far from being "mad," their prisoner was lucid and eloquent as well as brave. The slander of insanity was circulated by the weaker members of the anti-slavery camp, who cringingly sought to avoid the identification with Brown that the southern press had opportunistically made. By falling for its own propaganda, however, and in the general panic that followed the botched insurrection, the South persuaded itself that war was inevitable and that Lincoln (who had denounced Brown in his campaign against Douglas and in his famous speech at Cooper Union) was a Brown-ite at heart. The history of the six years after 1859 is the history not so much of Brown's prophecy as of the self-fulfilling prophecy of his enemies. As Reynolds hauntingly words it,
The officer who supervised the capture of Brown was Robert E. Lee … Lee's retreat from the decisive battle of Gettysburg would pass over the same road that Brown took to Harpers Ferry on the night of his attack. The lieutenant who demanded Brown's
surrender was J.E.B. Stuart, later Lee's celebrated cavalry officer. Among the officers who supervised at Brown's hanging was Thomas Jackson, soon to become the renowned "Stonewall." Among the soldiers at Brown's execution was a dashing Southern actor, John Wilkes Booth.
If this does not vindicate Brown's view that all had been predestined by the Almighty before the world was made, it nonetheless does do something to the hair on the back of one's neck. As do the words finally uttered in Lincoln's Second Inaugural, about every drop of blood drawn by the lash being repaid by the sword, and the utter destruction of the piled-up wealth of those who live by the bondsman's toil. The final reckoning with slavery and secession was described by Lincoln himself as one great "John Brown raid" into the South, and was on a scale that would have brought a wintry smile to the stern face of Oliver Cromwell. The "Marseillaise" of that crusade ("The Battle Hymn of the Republic," which first appeared, as did many other important documents of the Brown-Emerson alliance, in the pages of this magazine) was an adaptation of the foot soldiers' song about Old Osawatomie Brown. One reserves the term "quixotic" for hopeless causes. Harpers Ferry was the first defeat, as it was also the seminal victory, of a triumphant cause, precisely because it sounded a trumpet that could never call retreat."
"Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry failed badly, of course, but the courage and bearing he demonstrated after his humiliating defeat were of an order to impress his captors, who announced that far from being "mad," their prisoner was lucid and eloquent as well as brave. The slander of insanity was circulated by the weaker members of the anti-slavery camp, who cringingly sought to avoid the identification with Brown that the southern press had opportunistically made. By falling for its own propaganda, however, and in the general panic that followed the botched insurrection, the South persuaded itself that war was inevitable and that Lincoln (who had denounced Brown in his campaign against Douglas and in his famous speech at Cooper Union) was a Brown-ite at heart. The history of the six years after 1859 is the history not so much of Brown's prophecy as of the self-fulfilling prophecy of his enemies. As Reynolds hauntingly words it,
The officer who supervised the capture of Brown was Robert E. Lee … Lee's retreat from the decisive battle of Gettysburg would pass over the same road that Brown took to Harpers Ferry on the night of his attack. The lieutenant who demanded Brown's
surrender was J.E.B. Stuart, later Lee's celebrated cavalry officer. Among the officers who supervised at Brown's hanging was Thomas Jackson, soon to become the renowned "Stonewall." Among the soldiers at Brown's execution was a dashing Southern actor, John Wilkes Booth.
If this does not vindicate Brown's view that all had been predestined by the Almighty before the world was made, it nonetheless does do something to the hair on the back of one's neck. As do the words finally uttered in Lincoln's Second Inaugural, about every drop of blood drawn by the lash being repaid by the sword, and the utter destruction of the piled-up wealth of those who live by the bondsman's toil. The final reckoning with slavery and secession was described by Lincoln himself as one great "John Brown raid" into the South, and was on a scale that would have brought a wintry smile to the stern face of Oliver Cromwell. The "Marseillaise" of that crusade ("The Battle Hymn of the Republic," which first appeared, as did many other important documents of the Brown-Emerson alliance, in the pages of this magazine) was an adaptation of the foot soldiers' song about Old Osawatomie Brown. One reserves the term "quixotic" for hopeless causes. Harpers Ferry was the first defeat, as it was also the seminal victory, of a triumphant cause, precisely because it sounded a trumpet that could never call retreat."
Human Wrongs
Freedom House has released its annual list of the world’s worst human rights violators, and out of the 18 most repressive regimes, six of them—China, Cuba, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe—are currently members of the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Not for the love of money.
I was wondering what he was paid as the successor to St. Peter. I thought it would be modest in those terms, but substantial for the position. Apparently not. He received no salary, and this is a response to the question in 2001.
Pope John Paul II does not know what his salary is-- if indeed he is paid-- his spokesman has revealed.
Last week, as he outlined the financial accounts for the Holy See during the 2000 fiscal year, Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani was taken off guard by a question about the Pope's salary. The cardinal said that he assumed the Pontiff received a salary, like every other cleric.
But in comment to the press on July 7, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said: "John Paul II is not aware of-- and never has been aware of-- any salary."
"The relevant agencies of the Holy See provide for the daily needs and activities of the Pope," Navarro-Valls explained. He added that money donated to the Pope is "devoted to the needs of the Church, respectful of the intentions of the donors."
Pope John Paul II does not know what his salary is-- if indeed he is paid-- his spokesman has revealed.
Last week, as he outlined the financial accounts for the Holy See during the 2000 fiscal year, Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani was taken off guard by a question about the Pope's salary. The cardinal said that he assumed the Pontiff received a salary, like every other cleric.
But in comment to the press on July 7, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said: "John Paul II is not aware of-- and never has been aware of-- any salary."
"The relevant agencies of the Holy See provide for the daily needs and activities of the Pope," Navarro-Valls explained. He added that money donated to the Pope is "devoted to the needs of the Church, respectful of the intentions of the donors."
Friday, April 01, 2005
Pontifex Maximus
There have been a number of methods for choosing a pope over the centuries since St. Linus, the second pope, replaced the apostle Peter -- St. Peter to Catholics -- in the year 67. The first popes were chosen by local clergymen who lived near Rome, but kings, emperors and other interested bystanders have done what they could to influence the process as well. And there were times when those who were displeased with the outcome appointed their own man, who was known as the antipope. But in 1059 Pope Nicholas II decreed that henceforth all papal electors must be cardinals, and in 1179 Pope Alexander III ruled that all cardinals would have an equal vote in the election. In 1274, Pope Gregory X decided that the cardinals must meet within 10 days of a pope's death, and that they should be kept in strict seclusion until a pope was chosen. By the late 1500s, most of the electoral procedures now used were in place. The pope can be elected by one of three methods. A unanimous voice vote is permissible, as is the unanimous selection by the cardinals of a 9- to 15-member committee, which then must agree on a pope.
Who's Waiting in the WingsPotential Popes: Profiles
The most common method, however, is election by ballot, which works as follows:
When the pope dies, the dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals notifies the cardinals and calls a meeting -- always held in the morning -- that must begin no more than 20 days after the pope's death. The cardinals draw lots to select three members to collect ballots from the infirm, three "tellers" to count the votes and three others to review the results. Blank ballots are then prepared and distributed. After writing the name of one man on his ballot, each of the approximately 120 active cardinals -- those under 80 years of age -- walks to an altar and pledges to perform his duty with integrity. He then places his ballot in a container which is covered by a plate. After all votes are cast, the tellers tally the ballots and the result is read to the cardinals. If there is no winner, another vote is taken. If there is still no winner, two more votes are scheduled for the afternoon. After the votes are counted each time, the ballots are burned. If there has been no winner, a chemical is mixed with the ballots to produce black smoke when they are burned. Sight of the black smoke emerging from the roof of the Vatican Palace tells those waiting in St. Peter's Square that a pope has not yet been selected. When a winner has been selected, the ballots are burned alone, and the white smoke indicates there is a new pope. Traditionally, the winner had to garner two-thirds of the vote plus one, but John Paul II changed that in 1996. He ruled that if, after 12 or 13 days there is still no winner, the conclave could invoke a rule -- by majority vote -- that would permit the selection of the pope by an absolute majority. Once there is a winner, the pope-elect is asked if he accepts the decision. (Pope John Paul II reportedly accepted his election with tears in his eyes.) If he does, the dean asks what name he chooses and announces it to the cardinals, who then come forward to offer congratulations. The oldest cardinal then steps out on a balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square and says to the crowd, "Habemus papam" -- "We have a pope." He then introduces the pope, who steps out on the balcony to bless Rome and the world. Many popes have been formally installed with a coronation, but Pope John Paul II refused a coronation and was installed as the pope during a Mass in St. Peter's Square.
Who's Waiting in the WingsPotential Popes: Profiles
The most common method, however, is election by ballot, which works as follows:
When the pope dies, the dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals notifies the cardinals and calls a meeting -- always held in the morning -- that must begin no more than 20 days after the pope's death. The cardinals draw lots to select three members to collect ballots from the infirm, three "tellers" to count the votes and three others to review the results. Blank ballots are then prepared and distributed. After writing the name of one man on his ballot, each of the approximately 120 active cardinals -- those under 80 years of age -- walks to an altar and pledges to perform his duty with integrity. He then places his ballot in a container which is covered by a plate. After all votes are cast, the tellers tally the ballots and the result is read to the cardinals. If there is no winner, another vote is taken. If there is still no winner, two more votes are scheduled for the afternoon. After the votes are counted each time, the ballots are burned. If there has been no winner, a chemical is mixed with the ballots to produce black smoke when they are burned. Sight of the black smoke emerging from the roof of the Vatican Palace tells those waiting in St. Peter's Square that a pope has not yet been selected. When a winner has been selected, the ballots are burned alone, and the white smoke indicates there is a new pope. Traditionally, the winner had to garner two-thirds of the vote plus one, but John Paul II changed that in 1996. He ruled that if, after 12 or 13 days there is still no winner, the conclave could invoke a rule -- by majority vote -- that would permit the selection of the pope by an absolute majority. Once there is a winner, the pope-elect is asked if he accepts the decision. (Pope John Paul II reportedly accepted his election with tears in his eyes.) If he does, the dean asks what name he chooses and announces it to the cardinals, who then come forward to offer congratulations. The oldest cardinal then steps out on a balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square and says to the crowd, "Habemus papam" -- "We have a pope." He then introduces the pope, who steps out on the balcony to bless Rome and the world. Many popes have been formally installed with a coronation, but Pope John Paul II refused a coronation and was installed as the pope during a Mass in St. Peter's Square.
The papers are still missing....
WASHINGTON, March 31 - Samuel R. Berger, a national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and give up his security clearance for three years for removing classified material from a government archive, the Justice Department and associates of Mr. Berger's said Thursday. A respected figure in foreign policy circles for years, Mr. Berger has also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine as part of an agreement reached recently with the Justice Department after months of quiet negotiations, the associates said. He is expected to enter his plea on Friday in United States District Court here, capping an embarrassing episode that reverberated in last year's presidential campaign.
Mr. Berger was a senior policy adviser to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee, and was often mentioned as a possible secretary of state in a Kerry presidency. But he quit the campaign abruptly in July after accusations surfaced that he had inappropriately removed classified material from a secure reading room at the National Archives. The material involved a classified assessment of terrorist threats in 2000, which Mr. Berger was reviewing in his role as the Clinton administration's point man in providing material to the independent commission investigating the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Officials with the Archives and the Sept. 11 commission ultimately determined that despite the incident, the commission had access to all the material needed in its work. When the issue surfaced last year, Mr. Berger insisted that he had removed the classified material inadvertently. But in the plea agreement reached with prosecutors, he is expected to admit that he intentionally removed copies of five classified documents, destroyed three and misled staff members at the National Archives when confronted about it, according to an associate of Mr. Berger's who is involved in his defense but who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plea has not been formalized in court.
Mr. Berger was a senior policy adviser to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee, and was often mentioned as a possible secretary of state in a Kerry presidency. But he quit the campaign abruptly in July after accusations surfaced that he had inappropriately removed classified material from a secure reading room at the National Archives. The material involved a classified assessment of terrorist threats in 2000, which Mr. Berger was reviewing in his role as the Clinton administration's point man in providing material to the independent commission investigating the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Officials with the Archives and the Sept. 11 commission ultimately determined that despite the incident, the commission had access to all the material needed in its work. When the issue surfaced last year, Mr. Berger insisted that he had removed the classified material inadvertently. But in the plea agreement reached with prosecutors, he is expected to admit that he intentionally removed copies of five classified documents, destroyed three and misled staff members at the National Archives when confronted about it, according to an associate of Mr. Berger's who is involved in his defense but who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plea has not been formalized in court.
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On Francisco Franco
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